Cycling is so dangerous!

We have cycled in 36 countries:

and today we were once again out on our bikes. And for at least the 36th time we were asked “But isn’t cycling here dangerous?” And, as always, we pointed to the fact that we have not had an accident involving another vehicle in all those countries. Although we have managed to crash without any external help a few times and destroyed a few helmets.

Cars kill people. They kill lots of people in every country. In Germany they kill over 800 pedestrians and cyclists every year. Walking next to the road is a risk sport but not as dangerous as driving in a car. Cars kill three times as many car occupants than cyclists each year.

We have definitely been lucky but actually the huge majority of car drivers take special care to try and avoid us. Maybe they see us as an endangered species or maybe they worry that hitting a tourist will get blood on their car and get the police involved. Whatever the reason we, mostly, enjoy our cycling even on the roads.

The absolute best is when we are away from the traffic on a bike only lane – as was the case everywhere last week in Singapore – but when we have to share the road, then we try to make ourselves obvious, clearly signal our intentions and smile at every one. It has worked until now.